Garrett v. Garrett is an unpublished November 2005 opinion from the South Carolina Court of Appeals. Both spouses appealed the family court’s property division decision and I was retained to handle the appeals for Ms. Garrett.
The Court of Appeals affirmed the family court’s order on both issues Ms. Garrett raised on her appeal. If affirmed three of the four issues raised by Mr. Garrett on his appeal and remanded the award to of $4,477.50 in attorney’s fees to Ms. Garrett back to the family court.
On the surface this appeal looks like a $4,477.50 reversal for Ms. Garrett. However as noted in the Court’s of Appeals’ decision to not award Ms. Garrett more equity from the marital home, she had continued to live in the marital home rent-free pending the appeal, even though the family court had awarded the home to Mr. Garrett and Ms. Garrett had not appealed this ruling. For almost four years–from the time of Mr. Garrett’s August 26, 2003 notice of appeal until the South Carolina Supreme Court denied Ms. Garrett’s petition for certiorari on July 19, 2007–Ms. Garrett was able to live rent free in this home. Had her husband not appealed, she would never have obtained this four year period of rent-free living.
